"City of Hope... City of Friendship... City of Death..." So mutters fatigued police investigator Habib as he returns to Mashad, the holy city that guards so many memories for him. Just a cog in the Iranian justice system, ... more &raquohe's become more and more disillusioned with the officials he serves, and his arrival in Mashad only encourages his feeling that his superiors are interested more in asserting their power than in serving justice. Yet Habib's job in the city is not to catch up with the past, but to catch the serial killer who's been butchering women in the streets at night. The trail points to the local cult of religious fanatics run by the Master--could the killer be the leader's favored, loose-canon pupil, Sayef? Layers of intrigue are increasingly revealed as Habib comes closer to the culprit, but will he find the truth before more victims fall prey?&laquo less